Spring at Riddle Hill Homestead, Cookie Shop Expansion, Crafts, and What’s Coming Next
Hello Cookie Friends!
I can hardly believe how quickly we’ve gone from January’s relaxed attitude of “Oh, I have loads of time” to March’s realization of “Wow! The snow has almost melted, and spring is here!” If you’ve driven by lately, you may have noticed that Jim has been busy putting the finishing touches on our cookie shop expansion. We’re so close to being ready! A few shelves to put up, and we’ll be good to go. I’m aiming for a hopeful grand reopening on April 12th, as long as Mother Nature lends a helping hand!
If you missed the February newsletter, let me catch you up on the exciting projects we have in store! While I’ve loved being your go-to cookie baker, I’m thrilled to return to my first passion—glass art—and I’m currently almost finished building my dream studio! And don’t worry, cookies will still be a big part of our offerings! Our Honor System cookie shop will expand, featuring even more delicious treats from Melodie at Love at First Bite, along with a couple of old favorites that I know you loved last year. We’re also introducing a mini-market on Saturdays to showcase incredible local artwork, including some of my own, and to highlight the amazing talents of our local friends.
I’m also reaching out to local artists and craftspeople to see if you’d like to share your creations in our shop. If you’re a local artist or make unique crafts, please get in touch! I’m looking for a few more folks to help round out our collection. Here are some items I’d love to carry:
– Wax wraps (I make my own and adore them, but I’m hoping to find someone local who makes and sells them too!)
– NH Maple Syrup
– Locally made jellies and jams
– Fudge. I LOVED the one Danbury Store used to carry. If someone local makes good fudge, please reach out
– Local art (we already have one of my favorite local acrylic artists!)
– Greeting cards featuring beautiful local scenery
Please note that, for now, we’re not looking for jewelry or clothing vendors.
If you create something I didn’t mention, don’t hesitate to reach out. Sometimes we don’t know we want something until we hear about it!
We are also on the lookout for someone to help with sales on Saturdays once summer hits. This is a seasonal role, and I’d be happy to consider splitting the Saturdays between two people so that nobody has to work every weekend. I’m currently putting together a job description and will share it online as soon as it’s ready.
Once the snow melts, we’ll dive into our project list! We have a chicken run expansion to build and a little greenhouse to set up. We’re relocating our vegetable garden this year, so we’ll be doing some rototilling and collecting a mountain of rocks. There are cold-weather plants to put in the ground and warm-weather seeds to start. Plus, we need to plant new trees, remove a few more, pull stumps, and level the yard. It’s a lot to tackle, but we wouldn’t trade this little homestead for anything. In just a few short years, we’ve developed such a fondness for all the charming quirks of this old home and farm!
Finally, if you’d like to sneak a peek at our exciting plans for the empty store behind the cookie shop, we’d love for you to take the quick survey linked below. It’ll share our vision and give you a chance to be part of shaping our expansion! I recently sent out this to local friends and family to gauge interest, and it’s so encouraging to see the growing excitement around crafting! Plus, with the new monthly craft night just announced at Town Hall, there’s a wonderful buzz in our community about creativity and collaboration. By joining a class or enjoying open studio time at my studio, you’ll have access to all the tools you need and guidance to help you bring your creative ideas to life. It’s a fantastic opportunity to learn new skills, meet fellow crafters, and make something special together. I would love for you to be part of this journey! If you could take a moment to fill out the survey, I’d really appreciate your feedback. Let’s make beautiful things together in the coming months!
https://riddlehillhomestead.com/craft-class-interest-survey/
Thank you all for being such a wonderful community! We can’t wait to see what this spring brings!
Jim and Michelle
February 2025
Hello there Cookie Friends! It’s been a long, cold, snowy few months since I last checked in with all of you. I thought I’d start off by re-introducing myself, I’m Michelle and the baker behind the cookies here at Riddle Hill Homestead. While we’ve only lived on Riddle Hill since September of 2022, we have lived in Grafton since 2011, with a brief move south for a couple of years in the middle.
Some of you may remember me from various markets over the years selling under the name Grafton Glass. In the summer I was usually at the Wilmot Farmers Market, winters were spent downstairs at the Danbury Grange Hall’s Winter Market and every year a fun filled four days was spent at Deerfield Fair in the New Hampshire Made building.
Working with glass is and always has been my first love, and baking has been a fun hobby and stress reliever for me while we worked to turn Mr. Eagan’s old ham radio haven into the glass studio of my dreams!
What does this mean? This means that I once again get to play with fire and melt glass to my heart’s content. I’ll likely be bringing back my ‘Piece of New Hampshire’ line featuring mica (legally) sourced from Ruggles Mine years ago, before they closed and the new owners took over and re-opened. Does this mean no more cookies? Absolutely NOT! While we worked on renovations I grew to love making cookies for my community almost as much as I love melting glass. Almost. However, there will be some changes, hopefully, all changes for the better.
First up is our Honor System cookie shop will be open and expanded to double the size this coming season! What else is new? Well, this isn’t totally new since we started not long before closing last season, but Melodie from Love at First Bite will be our featured baker! I’ll be baking less, and she’ll be baking more and working us in around her Primitive Picking and market commitments. Between the two of us we should be able to keep up with the demand and keep our shop full for you. Together, we’ll keep your favorites stocked. And if we ever need a little help, “Little Debbie” is always there!
The next new thing will be vendors set-up on Saturdays.Most weekends will feature Michelle’s art and we are hoping to have other local friends, crafters and artists to set-up as well.We have a few people interested and are still finalizing the details.This is not a full market, just a spot that will hold 3-4 vendors at most and may not be full every Saturday. We’ll keep you posted as the details evolve.
Now you know that I love both making glass art and baking. There is another thing I was surprised to find I enjoyed, despite the hammering in my chest, butterflies in my belly and sweaty palms everytime I do it. I love teaching glass classes. Being able to share my passion for glass with others is a privilege. Watching the light in someone’s eyes when they accomplish something new – I can’t imagine I’ll ever tire of that. Back in the day, I used to travel to teach. These days, I’ll be teaching in my new studio. As the studio grows and expands (there’s an entire second floor to be renovated!) we will be able to increase the classes and mediums offered.
And finally, we’ll be adding a few hipcamp campsites to accommodate our visiting artists, crafters and other guests. These will be off-grid sites, with some amenities like a communal kitchen area and tent rentals. If you are coming to the area to visit Ruggles Mine, please know that they have camping right at the mine. Not that we wouldn’t welcome you, but being able to stay at the attraction you came all the way to Grafton to visit is pretty darn cool.
Stay tuned and be sure to like our page to follow along. As we get closer, I’ll share more and more details!
See you soon!
Michelle and Jim